Automatic safety vehicle door lock device



Oct. 5, 1937. c. H. PRESTON 2,095,081

AUTOMATIC SAFETY VEHICLE DOOR LOCK DEVICE Filed March 5, 1936 2Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR' CkarAsEHas/ak ATTORNEY Oct. 5, 1937. c. H.PRESTON 2,095,081

AUTOMATIC SAFETY VEHICLE DOOR LOCK .DEVICE Filed March 5, 1936 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY M512 E as/an Patented Oct. 5,19312,095,081

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE anromrro-ssrnrr VEHICLE noon LOOK nsvronCharles H. Preston, New York, N. Y.

Application March 5, 1938, Serial No. 67,197

3 Claims. (Cl. 180-82) This invention relates to new and useful im- Fig.11 is a perspective view of a door hinge provements in an automaticsafety vehicle door' equipped with an automatic safety vehicle lock lockdevice. device showing a modification of this invention.

The invention has-for an object the construc- Fig. 12 is a verticalsectional view taken on the tion of a device as mentioned which ischaracline I 2l2 of Fig. 11.

terized by the fact that it is capable of locking the Fig. 13 is afragmentary enlarged detailed view doors of a vehicle when the vehicleis in motion. of a portion of Fig. 11.

It is a further object of this invention to as- Fig. 14 is a fragmentaryenlarged sectional view sociatev a release device with the driver's doorof taken on the line -44 of Fig. 12.

the vehicle so that the driver may open the door Fig. 15 is a frontelevational view of the magnets 10 even though the vehicle is in motion.shown in Fig. 12.

A further object ofthis invention isthe ar- Fig. 16 is a sectional viewtaken on the line rangement of a governor operable when the vehilG-l 6of Fig. 12. cle to which the device is applied is in motion and Fig. 17is a fragmentary detailed view of the 15 controlling a locking mechanismfor the doors of junction portion of the hinge. 15 the vehicle. Theautomatic safety vehicle door lock device,

Still further the invention P p a mechaaccording to this inventioncomprises a door lock n'ism for locking the doors of a vehicleelectrically in having a conventional bolt iii. A member I l releasableupon the depression of a button which is associated with the boltlll' tolock the lock in 20 may be located on the dashboard of the vehicle. itslocked position. A solenoid is provided ,for 20 Another object is theconstruction of a device actuating the member II. This solenoid is arasdescribed w i is mple and durable and ranged in an electric circuit l3operated by a which may be manufactured and sold at a reaswitch is whichis controlled by a. governor l5 sonablecost. actuated when the vehicleto which the device is For further comprehension of the invention,appliedisin motion. 25 and of the objects and advantagesthereof, ref-The governor is is mounted upon the body It erence willbehad to thefollowing description and of a vehicle, as for example that shown inFig. accompanying drawings, and to the appended 1. The governor l5 has astationary bearing l1 claims in which the various novel features of thewhich supports weighted arms i8. These weightinvention are moreParticularly set o thed arms are adapted to be rotated by a cable I! 30Inthe accompanying drawings formingamatewhich passes through a flexiblehousing 20 and rial D Of this dise10s1i1e1-- at the extremity isequipped with a gear 2| mesh- 1 is an v ti nal View of an automobile ingwith a gear 22 upon the axle of the vehicle. quipp d w an automatic s tyd ock d The weighted arms l8 connect with an element 23 vice accordingto this invention. engaging a fork portion ll of a pivotally mounted 5Fi 2 is a fr m n ry el v ti nal view of one bell crank l4", whichcontrols the switch IA. of the doo s of e Vehicle q p with the In Fig. 2the wiring of the device is illustrated Vice aeeeiding to thisinvention. to which seheschematically. There is a. source of power suchmetie Wiring has been addedas a battery 24 which operates the circuitI3.

40 Fi 3 is a fragmentary elevational view of the This battery is inseries with the switch It and 40 sov o which t s the locking mechanism.with the solenoid l2. The solenoid is mounted 4 is a fr mentary enlargeddetailed view upon the frame of the door and operates the of a portionof the locking mechanism. member I I which engages the bolt Ill of thelock. 5 is a agmentary e a ged e evationa This lock is mounted on thedoor. The circuit 4 Vi w Of a portion f Fi passes through the door sothat it must be opened Fi 6 is a sectional V w taken on the l n when thedoor is opened. The circuit is completed of Fig. 5. through thecontacting edges of the door and door Fi 7 is 8 Vi w milar to Fig. 4 butillustrating jam on which the lock l0 and the solenoid 12 are themechanism at the driver's seat. mounted. These portions are of metal,and it is 0 Fig. 8 isa sectional view taken on the line 8-8 only desiredto have them work when the door of Fig. 7. is shut. More particularly,the return lead is Fig. 9 is a horizontal sectional view taken on fromthe battery passes through the hinge 25 the line 9-9 of Fig. 8. of thedoor and continues along the lead i3" to Fig. 10 is a fragmentarysectional view taken the ground or body of the lock Hi. When the 56 onthe line Ill-l ll of Fig. 1. doors are closed and the switch It isclosed by the ing opening ""in the bolt ll.

motion of the vehicle the circuit I I will be closed energizing thesolenoid II and cause the membc ii to engage the bolt I. of the lock nutII and thus prevent the door from being opened.

The member Ii is normally urged into a raised position by a spring ll.It is forced downwards against the action .of this spring when thesolenoid is energized so as to 'engage'the bolt It. The'lower end ll ofthe member ii is bevelled. so that it may automatically ensu into areceiv- The construction for each of the doors is identical to that Justdescribed, except the-driver's door, indicated by reference numeral ll.l'br the driver's door, a special release is provided. This release isin the form of a depressible plunger 2! which is urged into an extendedposition by a spring and which is formed with a fork ll upon its innerend. The fork has a bevelled portion II which cavities a so as to reducethe air resistance of the vehiclewhen it travels. The cavity 38 is veryclearly shown in' Fig. 6 wherein it is shown that the lock is settherein. To further reduce the air resistance of the vehicle the hingesII of the doors are also sunk in. This is clearly shown in Fig. 10. Arecess 84 is formed between the contacting edges of the door and thedoor frame. It is within these recesses that the hinges are mounted. Theoperation of the device is as follows:- While the vehicle is stationarythe switch ll will be open and consequently the circuit I8 is open. Thesprings then hold the members ii in raised positions. All of the doorsare thus free to be opened. When the vehicle travels the governor lloperates which causes the closing of the switch ll. Now, the circuit IIis closed and all of the members II are extended downwards and serve tohold the doors locked. The driver's door may be opened when the plunger20 is depressed.

A red-signal lamp It is arranged inparallel in the circuit II andpreferably should be mounted on the dashboard of the vehicle to indicateto the driver whether or not the safety device is operating.- When thelamp is illuminated it signifiesthat all is well and the vehicle doorslocked.

In Figs. 11-17 inclusive a modification of the invention is disclosed inwhich the automatic safety vehicle door lock is incorporated in one ofthe hinges of each of the doors. Each of these hinges comprises a pairof leaves It 4.". which are pivotally connected by a pintle pin-4i. Acoaxial spring 42 is mounted upon thepintie pin and acts to normallyurge the leaves closed. Upon one of the leaves there is a stationarybolt 43 adapted to be engaged and held by a movable keeper N on theother of the leaves. This keeper u is slidably guided and supported by apintle ll upon a plate 40 which may be drawn down by an electro-magnet41 eiectro-magnet is in a circuit controlled by a push button switch 0.The bolt 48 and keeper 4 are adapted to auclosed. The door will remainclosed unless the keeper 44 is released by closing the switch 48 whichwill operate the electro-magnet to move the keeper N from its operativeposition.

The recess upon which the movable keeper N is mounted is formed withaportion I which is partially covered by a plate ill. Several otherplates Ii are held spaced from. the plate I. by rivets II. The movablekeeper it is slidably mounted between these parts.

- tomatically engage each other when the door is ergized the partitionIt will bend downwards which causes the keeper M to move in a likedirectio'n- While I have illustrated and described the preferredembodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limitmyself to the precise constructions herein disclosed and the right isreserved to all changes and modifications coming within the scope of theinvention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Unit States Letters Patent is:-

1. An automatic safety vehicle door lock device, comprising a door lock,a member forl king said look, a solenoid for actuating said me her, anelectric circuit for said solenoid, a switchbontrolling said circuit,and a governor operable when operative with a keeper in the door frame,said member for locking said lock being mounted on the door frame.

2. An automatic safety vehicle door lock device,

comprising a door lock, a member for locking said look, a solenoid foractuating said member, an electric circuit for said solenoid, a switchcontrolling said circuit, and a governor operable when a vehicle towhich the device is applied is in motion and adapted to control saidswitch, said lock being adapted to be mounted on the door of thevehicle, said member being adapted to be mounted on the frame of saidvehicle, and said circuit extending from the frame of the vehicle to thedoor of the vehicle through a metallic hinge used for supporting thedoor. g

3. An automatic safety vehicle door lock device, comprising a door lock,a member for locking said lock, a solenoid for actuating said member, anelectric circuit for said solenoid, a switch controlling said circuit, agovernor operable when a vehicle to which the device is applied is inmotion and adapted to control said switch, and a manual release forlifting said member to open the lock, comprising a depressible buttonformed with a cam capable of lifting said member.

; CHARLES H. PRESTON.

